


Education is the thing if you wanna compete

by flyingisabetterwordforfalling (FlyingFalling)



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Disapproving Family, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Engagement, Established Relationship, F/M, Family Drama, Good Dudley Dursley, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mild Language, Protective Siblings, Racism, Racist Language, Redeemed Dudley Dursley, Same-Sex Marriage, Some Humor, Vernon Dursley Being an Asshole
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-04
Updated: 2017-10-04
Packaged: 2019-01-09 02:09:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,809
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12266745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingFalling/pseuds/flyingisabetterwordforfalling
Summary: "...Wizards have cell phones and blow up chimneys?""That's your big question, Dudley? Really?"





	Education is the thing if you wanna compete

His week had been one of the weirdest the office had yet to offer, he had mostly been working alone while his colleagues had all too gladly taken the chance to leave as soon as they could and Dudley had had to stay all day long. In a few days he could finally take time off in lieu of overtime and his boss would not be able to say anything against it.  
  
Even though Nell had told him, time and time again, that it would be alright to go on her own, he would accompany her to her older brother's wedding. Sure, he was nervous to eventually meet her family, but he could not let her go alone, not when her eyes lit up the way they did whenever she talked about her brother and how proud she was that he would finally get married to his significant other. According to Nell, their marriage had been a long time in the coming, since the two of them had been childhood sweethearts or at least been together for years and years. Even though Dudley and Nell were not and had only been going out for under a year, he already knew that she was worth it and was possibly even the one he would tie the knot with.  
  
His father did not approve, but when did he ever? One of Dudley's former girlfriends had not been good enough because his father considered her to be lower middle class and Dudley had broken up with her due to his parent's constant nagging about her not deserving him. Emma had been a nice girl and he had truly liked her, but they had agreed that they would probably not end up being happy together.    
  
Years later, when he had eventually met Nell at an office party he had been smitten with the beautiful young woman as soon as she had bumped into him, and as if that had been her plan all along she asked him to dance with her. Dance they did, even though Dudley had never been the greatest dancer, but her laugh and her bright eyes had bewitched him from the very moment he had held her hand for the first time, maybe even sooner. They had not exchanged numbers then, but kept meeting one another and eventually Nell had asked him out.  
  
They had been together ever since, and now, standing in front of his apartment door, Dudley remembers his father's expression when he had told him openly that his new girlfriend was not the potential daughter-in-law the Dursleys seemed to want to marry into their family.  
  
His girlfriend had several siblings, sisters and brothers, a fact that had not bothered Vernon up until the moment Dudley had proudly showed him a picture of him and Nell holding hands and grinning into the camera. Dudley really liked that picture and how Nell's dark eyes sparkled with joy. Against all odds, after waiting long enough to be sure about their relationship, Dudley had wanted to introduce the people he loved to each other, all while hoping his father might finally like a girl Dudley went out with. He had only ever been this serious about Emma, and his family, mostly consisting of Dudley himself and his parents, was very important to him. Especially considering this coming weekend, when he would eventually meet Nell's.  
  
The racist comments about her parents being dumb immigrants who were seemingly too dumb to use contraceptives had resulted in Dudley immediately leaving his parent's house for good. He called his mother once in a while, but the conversation from that day, when Nell had been waiting in his car as part of the planned surprise when he had stormed out of the house and asked her to drive back to her apartment, had been somewhat of an wake-up call.  
  
Petunia had tried to placate her son by telling him every once in a while that his father did not mean it like that and eventually Dudley had even snapped at her that such words could not have any other meaning than the terrible one they failed to conceal. Still, she tried to coerce him into coming over for dinner but as long as his parents did not plainly ask him to bring his girlfriend as well, Dudley did not even think about stepping into his parent's house again.    
  
This weekend,  Nell's family would meet up to celebrate her eldest brother's wedding. It would be a small union celebrated with the couple's family and closest friends. Dudley felt a little weird, when he thought about being part of such an intimate family event and he knew that Nell wanted him to be a part of it.  
  
Such intimate moments had been rare during his childhood, therefore Dudley loved hearing about Nell's family even more and even though her eldest brother, who was as plain as it could be, her favourite sibling had been absent for most of his school years she talked with nothing but warmth in her tone and had made it very clear at their first date that her brother was in a relationship with another man and should Dudley have to say something against that he was free to get up and leave.  
  
Dudley had not left; people were different and despite his father, he had tried to leave his past behind. Being mean to other people for something they could not change about themselves, or to be mean to others in general was something he had learnt to condemn.  
  
Sometimes Dudley thought about his childhood and wondered if it would have been any different if he had grown up with Harry as his adopted brother instead of with his cousin as the weird other child in the house. Then he remembered the one time he had woken up in the middle of the night due to having gotten stomach cramps from eating almost all the Hallowe'en sweets, only to find his mother in the kitchen, lighting a candle and whispering something about being sorry.  
  
Only after learning about his family's past, Dudley had realized that such hatred had ripped his own family, his mother's and aunt's, in half. Prejudices and ignorance had been as common during his childhood as his huge collection of toys and his mother's coddling. Since having that realization, Dudley had often thought about the people he never got to meet. His cousin's parents, as well as his cousin's current family. However, he was sure that Harry was alright.  


"What are you thinking about, love?"  
  
Dudley hung up his suit jacket before also removing his dress shoes. It felt good to finally be home again. Nell was leaning against the doorframe that led into the kitchen and for a second Dudley's tired mind wondered how she might have gotten into the flat before he remembered that he had given her his spare key a few days ago so she would not have to wait for him to come home in the late evenings. It was as close as he dared to, without actually asking her officially if she wanted to move in with him.  
  
He put his briefcase next to the box that contained their boxing gloves. The two of them went boxing together in their free time, another aspect Vernon had greatly criticized even before Dudley had told him that this new friend of his, he had been talking about for a while, had actually become his girlfriend. Today was not a day to think about his father, instead Dudley smiled back at Nell before moving closer to her and meeting her halfway when she also leaned in to kiss him. He liked the way her lips curled up into a tiny smile whenever she greeted him like that, or he greeted her for that matter.  
  
Later that evening, when Nell lay snuggled up to him on his sofa, all while pretending to watch the movie instead of dozing off, he kept watching her instead of the TV screen. Not bothered by her unconvincing acting, Dudley just keeps stroking her hair, content to just sit there and be close to the woman he was willing to fight his parents for.  
  
"Dudley, I might have to tell you something...", Nell eventually whispered just when her boyfriend was certain she had finally fallen asleep. After some wriggling she sat next to him or rather faced him with her cold feet pressed against his legs, obviously searching for the right words.  
  
In secret, Dudley slightly panicked, and somehow expected her to start off with: "We need to talk."  
  
She did not, but kept looking at him as if she was expecting him to just know what she was thinking.  
  
"You don't want me to come to your brother's wedding? It's too soon, isn't it?", Dudley finally asked, when it dawned on him what this awkward silence might be about.  
  
"No, well yes, but no. It might be too soon to tell you ...That's not it."  
  
"If it is, I understand, honestly I do. We're not even dating for an entire year yet and-"  
  
"-That's not it, Dudley. It's just, well, my family is different."  
  
"Is it about traditions? The colour of your skin? Of mine? About the wedding taking place in Ireland? Wait, you would have told me if the plane tickets were too expensive... I would have helped you, I mean, of course I would help you out."  


Now she looked actually torn, obviously touched by his implied offer to buy her a last-minute ticket to Ireland should she actually need one.  
         
"No, Dudley. My brother, he... I don't know how to explain this..."  
  
"He's gay, so what?"  
  
"Bi.", Nell interrupted seemingly without thinking, sounding as if correcting people has become a habit of hers when talking about her brother.  
  
"Okay, he's bi and about to marry another bloke, so what? That's not weird or strange, but I've told you that before. Is there a strange aunt, who lives somewhere hidden in the woods who hates all the younger cousins and is secretly called swamp witch? Are there soul-sucking monsters, banshees, it's in Ireland after all?"  
  
At his last sentences, which were meant as a little joke to change the mood, Nell went a little pale and Dudley stopped talking abruptly.  
  
"No.", he breathed and moved closer until he reached out to caress Nell's cheek, the way he always did when she seemed distressed, she simply leaned into his touch and closed her eyes. After taking a deep breath she opened her eyes again, her gaze firmly directed at him.  
  
"It may be a little hard to understand, but I know that I want you to meet my family. My whole family and not just the ones who are not like him, I want you to meet my brother and know that he is no ordinary man. He was a soldier when he was barely even an adult. He fought alongside others like him and almost lost his life. He survived a war, he is a well-known war-hero back home, so is his fiancé and so are their friends. When he turned eleven years old, he went to a very special school..."  
  
"Hogwarts, he went to Hogwarts, didn't he?", Dudley interrupted her and knows how rude he was being but he was so sure that this was what she wanted to tell him, that her brother was a wizard and that she herself might be... a witch. What an awful boyfriend must he have been to not notice her hiding something of such importance about herself.  
  
He was, of course, a little shocked, but despite everything he could not help the small grin when his girlfriend almost burst with unconcealed pride about her family just minutes prior to this revelation. However, now Nell was the one who seemed a little lost for words, waiting for him to explain his reaction and apparent knowledge of the magic world.  
  
Dudley took a deep breath, slowly exhaled and inhaled before asking his question.  
  
"Does he happen to know someone called Potter, perhaps a Harry Potter?"  
  
"What? How do you- ?"  
  
"Did you hide being a witch because you were afraid of my reaction? ...Nell, I love you. You could have told me. Were you afraid of my reaction?"  
  
"...what? Why, how? No, no I wasn't."  
  
"My cousin never did go public with his shitty family background, did he?"  
   
"You're Harry Potter's Muggle cousin? Wow, that's just, wow. I've met him at the engagement party. He even told me where he grew up and I did think that he must have known you as a child and what a strange coincidence that was. You're cousins. This is so strange... "  
  
"Nell, are you okay, do you need a minute?"  
  
She looked at him as if she was not sure whether to laugh or to cry.  
  
"I don't care if you're a witch, Nelly. I am being serious here, I love you."  
  
"I'm not, I'm not a witch I mean and I would have told you eventually. But Harry, your cousin, I mean, never told anyone about his mother's family. He only ever uses acronyms and once even threatened to sue a journalist who was apparently trying to find out about you."  
  
  
"...How do you even know all of this if you're not a witch?"  
  
"Well, to be honest, half of my friends are witches and wizards. You tend to get to know magic people when your brother goes missing for a while and you move in with his soon-to-be-in-laws for a few months. Magical folk likes to gossip about what's going on in their society as much as ours.", Nell actually sounded a little sheepish now. Dudley had to assimilate everything, at least he tried.    
  
Thus, instead of an answer Dudley hugged her and made sure her blanket was wrapped around her shoulders before he got off the sofa, only to kneel in front of it, never once losing sight of his girlfriend.  
  
"I know, it's not even been a year and this might be the single most spontaneous thing I've ever done. It may be way too soon, but I like to think that I know what I'm doing, especially when it comes to you... I have nothing planned, but I still want to ask you this question...", Nell suddenly looks back wide-eyed but obviously delighted, "Nell Thomas, will you give me the honour and the joy of being your husband?"   
  
Suddenly he was completely sprawled out on the ground and crying with her and Nell almost missed his mouth when she tried to kiss him; her aim was much better when she smacked him once they stopped kissing to eventually breathe and he asked her if that was meant to be a yes.  
  
  
The next morning, Nell and him were talking about some events Dudley had suspected to be of magical origin but had never been entirely sure about. He knew there had been an oncoming war and that his cousin had played a certain role in it but that had been about everything he knew. Once they were quiet for a while and actually eating their breakfast, it was almost as if they had never talked about any of the things they had talked about. Expect that Dudley was now sure to have gotten to know his girlfriend and newly fiancée even better than before. Dudley was chewing his toast and reading the newspaper when Nell took his free hand and tapped onto his fingers to get his attention.  
  
"About the plane tickets... how do you feel about a more direct way of traveling? We would get directly to the wedding ceremony; I just have to text Dean and he might pick us up himself, without his dear future-husband. Come to think about it, he might blow up the chimney."  
  
"...Wizards have cell phones and blow up chimneys?"  
  
"That's your big question, Dudley? Really?"  
  
"Actually, it's whether you want to marry me or not."  
  
"I do."  
  
"That's it then, you text your brother and I'll ring my parents and tell them that I'm going to marry into a magical family, no pun intended.", they had talked about it for hours on end and Dudley was  really not joking about being prepared to talk to his parents, he actually wanted to confront his father once and for all. His mother might get used to the idea of having even more connections to the magical world but he highly doubted his father could ever do the same.  


Dudley was going to marry Nell, sooner or later, and should they ever start a family and have children together, Dudley was absolutely sure, he would do everything he could, to make sure these children felt loved for who they were, with or without magic in their lives.  
   
  
  

**Author's Note:**

> I wanted to write something about family life and then I wanted to write about Dudley and it went from there, and the story about Nell's and Dean's family was inspired by the song 'Colour Him Father' by 'The Winstons', the title is also a part of that song because I cannot come up with story titles to safe my life. -I hope you enjoyed reading this. :)


End file.
